


Possibly, Maybe

by Artificial Pichitinha (Pichitinha)



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Lesbian AU, Tumblr Prompt, also this is stupid fluff from start to finish, coffee shop AU, girl au, pearl shea kim and trannika have a few lines but like very few anyway so I'm not tagging, you'll pry fluff fics out of my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 11:08:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13588785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pichitinha/pseuds/Artificial%20Pichitinha
Summary: Trixie has decided to call her "Blondie" in her mind, mostly because she reminds her of the lead singer, but also because she won't say her fucking name therefore Trixie has no idea what to call her. It's starting to annoy Trixie, really, that she has no idea what the girl's name is, and she could just come out and ask it at some point, but she feels like she would be crossing some silently established line where they're just a barista and a customer and not something else even if Trixie might think about it sometimes.Based onyou give me a different fake name every time you come into starbucks and I just want to know your real name bc ur cute but here I am scrawling “batman” onto your stupid cappuccino, or alternatively, the trixya coffee shop au no one asked for





	Possibly, Maybe

**Author's Note:**

> I am back with yet another stupid fluff fic because that's the only thing my brain seems capable of writing so I just roll with it. First of all, as usual, thanks to [Rosie](https://crackerdyke.tumblr.com/)e for reading it and proofreading it and having to reassure me a thousand times it was not terrible, you're great and ily. Second: I realise that in several of the coffee interactions there's no mention of the coffee being paid for but that's just called "the author overlooking details" so just roll with it and assume nothing was stolen or given for free? Third: I'm not the one to try to find excuses for the names being weird, I just roll with it and pretend they're normal. Lastly: the title comes from "I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you" which is the first line of "falling in love in a coffee shop" so to quote Trixie _did you guys know I'm a creative person?_

All things considered, Trixie kinda likes working at Starbucks. Well, sure, she hates when it's her day to close and she gets home super late, and having to stand up all day, and being stuck in the boring dark green uniform that clashes completely with any other color she might try to use, including - specially - pink.

But she likes her coworkers, the manager's really cool about shifts and times when she has a project or something for school and she gets free coffees, which given her taste in sweet complicated syrups would probably cost a lot, so she's glad.

The one she works in is a small branch on the little street that leads to the main avenue of the neighborhood and in said avenue there's a starbucks around four times bigger than the one she's in just two blocks away, so they get a fair amount of customers to keep the branch going successfully, but it's never crowded and Trixie's glad for that.

They have a nice little space with tables and sofas up the stairs that usually has students that spend hours and hours in there with their laptops and books spread over the small tables - Trixie herself has done that multiple times on her days off, it's nice and quiet and great for concentration - but they also have a window counter with some high stools and a communal table to the side of the counter on the first floor, so breakfast and lunch time are usually busy times as there are places people can settle down into for a few minutes.

All of her coworkers hate the busy hours, but Trixie can't stand the quiet ones. She goes through her Instagram feed super fast and then there's nothing new on any form of social media and the songs they play are always the same and she gets _so bored_.

She usually sits down on one of the tables when it's quiet and they go some time without customers and tries to write music. It's hard without her guitar and with ambient music, but sometimes she just tries to write a bunch of words that'll guide her when she gets home and can fully focus on it, so she likes it. But it's not often she can do that, sometimes a quiet shift means one customer every five minutes and it's not enough to give her a work rush but it's definitely not enough free time to relax.

Everyday she hopes against hope that something will happen to save her from the crushing boredom, and everyday nothing does.

Until that one afternoon.

It's quiet and boring as usual and Shea and Kim are off today so Trixie has to deal with the new girl Pearl who she actually likes quite a bit if not for the fact that Pearl seems to always have something going on on her phone, so Trixie can rarely ever strike a conversation with her when they aren't busy. The radio is playing the same song for the third time that day and Trixie swears she'll break the speakers if it comes on a fourth time when the door is forcefully thrown open in a very impressive way considering how heavy Trixie knows it is.

Now, Trixie doesn't like saying she has _crushes_ , and she specially doesn't ever have _crush at first sight_ feelings, but she guesses that if she did, this would be the time for it.

"Hi!" The blonde woman says in greeting as soon as she's inside, two rows of perfect white teeth framed by impeccably applied red lipstick showing as she smiles, the very adult image of her smile contrasting drastically with the - dares Trixie say - stupid way the front of her hair is pulled up into two pigtails.

It looks good though, as weird as it sounds.

Trixie thinks she's greeting a friend or someone she's meeting in there, but as the woman keeps staring at her expectantly as she approaches the counter Trixie realizes she's just being really polite to the staff - which in this case means _her_.

"Oh, hi! How can I help you?"

"Can I get the biggest cup of your strongest black coffee and… what is something teeth-rotting sweet that you have to offer me here?" She points to the glass below the counter where all the food is stored as she maintains her gaze firmly on Trixie. Her eyes are somehow so bright and so pale at the same time, but most definitely green, and they pierce into Trixie's as she stares. She has to clear her throat to get back to reality.

"Uh… the donuts are definitely super sweet, the double chocolate one is a favorite for kids, so that tells you something."

"Perfect! It is indeed for a child. I'll have one of those and the coffee, please."

She's extremely lively as she says her order and she's also incredibly polite which is something that Trixie appreciates tremendously. Customers at Starbucks are usually nice but never this vibrant and it's nice for a change. She gets the cup and thinks about just providing her with the coffee because they are told that if there are few customers and there's no chance of getting the orders confused they can do it, but Trixie likes doodling on them specially if the customer seems nice, and the woman is just overall so enticing that Trixie has to do it, even if she's by no means an artist, so she writes down the code for black coffee and asks the woman for the name.

She smiles way too big for such a simple question and replies quickly, "Jodie Foster."

Trixie's eyes narrow immediately at her.

"Jodie Foster?"

The woman leans against the counter and smirks. "Yeah. I'm on my way to the beach to look for my dead father, actually."

Trixie nods, isn't really sure what she means or even if she's sane _at all_ , and proceeds to write down the name with just a little smile on the side and pour scalding coffee on it.

"Here you go." Trixie hands her the cup and the paper bag with the donut and she smiles more naturally as she accepts them.

She eyes Trixie's name tag and nods as she starts to turn towards the door. "Thanks, Tracy."

Well, that was weird.

*

It’s been three days since the encounter with _Jodie Foster_ and if Trixie’s honest she’s thought about her a few times. That same night, for example, she googled what the hell the _dead dad on the beach_ meant and even tried to watch the movie but quit after twenty minutes because _oh my god it’s bad_.

Mostly, Trixie thinks, it’s her smile that got Trixie like this - smitten, says Shea, as if she’s an old British lady - but how could it not when those rows of white teeth were _so_ perfect. It suits her face, it goes well with the bold red she was wearing on her lips - which is, coincidentally but not correlatively, very sexy.

She’s starting to forget it though, safe on the notion that it was just a passing customer avoiding the full Starbucks up the street, when the woman barges in again.

“Hi, Tracey!” she greets immediately, and Trixie’s cheek warm up a little at the notion the she remembers her - even if the wrong name.

“Hi,” she replies lamely, feels weirdly out of place behind the counter even though that’s exactly where she was the last time.

“Can I get a large iced black coffee today, please?”

“Uh, sure.” She grabs the cup in a hurry even though she's not sure why and writes down the code. She goes to write a name down, but falters. “That was…” she starts, attempting a confirmation, still can’t fully accept the Jodie Foster bullshit.

Her smile is even bigger than it was the last time and Trixie wonders if that’s just the kind of person she is, and whatever the hell is coming out of her mouth next.

“You can write Daenerys. Mother of Dragons.”

_Right_. That settles it. She’s crazy.

“Daenerys…” Trixie replies, wants to see if the woman realizes she’s insane, but she just nods. “Ok, how do I write that?”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “You don’t watch Game of Thrones?”

“I don’t watch much TV to be honest. Being a full-time student and practically full-time barista doesn’t really allow for that.”

“Fuck, Tamara, you gotta watch that, it’s like _really good_.”

Trixie ignores the wrong name she uses for her _again_ and focuses on her words.

“I’m assuming _Contact_ was also supposed to be good?”

Her mouth drops and her eyes widen and Trixie realizes what she ended up confessing: she remembered her words and got interested enough to search for it. Her cheeks are burning.

She recovers quickly, though, and merely replies, “Yes! Isn’t it amazing?”

“I lasted twenty minutes.”

_Daenerys_ gasps and looks personally attacked by Trixie’s words and she can’t help but laugh.

“You were supposed to have good taste, Trish!”

Trixie snorts.

"First of all, it's _Trixie_ . Second, I am not the one wearing a necklace made out of _cigarettes_."

"It's just easier than a pack, you detach one and voilá! It's hard blowing birthday cake candles though, can you imagine the second degree burns?"

"Oh wow." Trixie laughs quietly as she scribbles _Denaris_ on the cup, not really sure on how to write it, and adds what she thinks looks like a confused face on the side. She handles the cup to Pearl who gives her a _look_ \- there's no one else on the line, she could've easily gotten the order herself - but she ignores it and turns back to the _mother of dragons_ . "That's… _something_."

"That's the goal, always being something! Maybe someday I'll get to be a someone. Who knows."

Trixie laughs as Pearl hands the woman the cup, watches as she smiles thankfully and starts turning away.

Trixie wishes she'd stay a little longer.

"Nice seeing you, Toby."

" _Oh my god_.

*

Trixie most definitely does not have a crush on the blonde woman whose name she still doesn’t known, although she knows it's neither Jodie Foster nor _Daenerys_ (yeah, she googled it). Trixie is an adult, she can drink and she can drive, she is independent, she's finishing college this semester and has a pretty good chance at getting an internship at a nice place once she does so. She doesn't get _crushes_.

But, sure, she'll admit the woman is gorgeous and that her smile and happiness are extremely contagious. So maybe Trixie had only seen her twice and very, very briefly, but she'd been a delight both times.

It's been four days since she last came into the store - but, it's fine, Trixie is not counting. She just happens to know. Because last time had been her first day back after her break day and today is her fourth. It's just simple logic. She's not thinking about her.

At least not until she walks in, big bright red smile directed at her once more.

"Tamara! Have you started Game of Thrones yet?" she says to her as if they've been friends for years and have a long, ongoing discussion on said TV show.

"No," Trixie asserts in a way that the woman seems to find funny - and Trixie almost tells her that she almost did it, had clicked on the first episode and almost pressed play, but decided that'd be pathetic and let it go. "Large black coffee?" she asks, assumes that that's what she wants, and she just nods as she continues with their previous conversation.

"People can't be perfect, I guess," she jokes, shrugging, and Trixie can't for the life of her stop the blood that's rushing to her cheeks. She's wearing, as per usual, a generous amount of make-up, so she's hoping to god that it'll cover anything underneath it. Just to be safe she lowers her head a little to type it in the register.

"Do you watch American Horror Story?" she asks, looking for a new topic that would still keep their conversation going.

The blonde woman seems taken aback, as if she's not expecting Trixie to initiate a conversation instead of just replying. Trixie would be a little offended at her lack of faith if her expression weren’t so cute.

"I don't, actually."

"Oh wow, don't talk to me about taste!" she deadpans, serious.

For a moment it's silent and Trixie worries she might have taken it the wrong way, but then she looks up from the register to see her silently laughing. Her arms are flailing and her shoulders are shaking a little and it should absolutely not be cute but somehow it is. Maybe because it was not nearly funny enough for that, but okay, Trixie will take a good crowd.

"Taking a jab at me, huh, ok mama, I see how it is. Just give me the coffee so I can handle the attack."

"Ok, umm…?" Trixie says, trailing off and moving her hands in a questioning motion so the woman will tell her her name.

"Cersei," she replies without a second thought.

Trixie nods briefly and puts the pen to the cup when she realizes.

"Is that from Game of Thrones?"

"It sure is! You're learning, Tammy."

Someone clears their throat behind the woman, and Trixie realizes that there are two people in line. Trixie apologizes quickly and looks back at her.

"Pearl can get your coffee for you," she says as she writes the name - _eyeroll_. Trixie decides to not draw anything, doesn't know what, and then-

"That's ok, I can wait," she replies, glint in her eyes, and Trixie considers that maybe it's ok if she counts this as a _crush_ after all.

She feels bold. She draws a winky face.

-

True to her word the woman waits until Trixie's done serving the two customers in line plus a third one that comes in. She's holding her cup with the words and emoji in it, but there's no coffee yet. Trixie knows she's seen what she drew, saw her looking and then taking a double-checking before grinning a bit.

Ok, yeah, _fine_ , she'll call it a crush.

"So, _Cersei_ , may I get your coffee?"

"Yes, please! Nothing against- Pearl, is it? Nothing against Pearl, but when you did it last time it tasted better."

Trixie feels there's supposed to be an innuendo there, but she can't quite point it out. Behind her, Pearl mutters "it's a fucking black coffee, it's _ready_ already-"

"Well, I _am_ much more talented than Pearl, thanks for noticing.”

Pearl slaps her arms, _Cersei_ laughs.

Trixie smiles.

"So," she starts, unsure of where she's going but determined to not let the atmosphere die. "Do you, like, work nearby?"

She nods. "I teach French at the French Institute two streets that way," she points out to the left side of the store. "And I teach yoga at the yoga center three streets that way." She points to the opposite side of the store. "So you're right in the middle of my daily routine." She finishes with a smile as she links the cup to her lips, as if she's happy with this fact.

"You teach French _and_ yoga?" Trixie doesn't wanna say she's impressed, but, well, she is.

"Neither of those are enough on their own, I'm afraid. But I enjoy it." She shrugs. "What about you? Living a life-long dream of working at Starbucks so you can drink all of the syrups for free?"

Trixie laughs. "Not a life-long dream but I do like the syrups."

She laughs. "I knew it."

"I'm just graduating college, actually. Looking for a _real job_ ," Trixie says, making little air quotes. "It's not that easy, it turns out."

"It really isn't," she agrees, moves in a way that looks like she’s about to lean on the counter when her phone alarm beeps. "Shit, I gotta go, I have a yoga class in fifteen. See you soon, Tina."

*

Trixie has decided to call her "Blondie" in her mind, mostly because she reminds her of the lead singer, but also because _she won't say her fucking name_ therefore Trixie has no idea what to call her. It's starting to annoy Trixie, really, that she has no idea what the girl's name is, and she could just come out and ask it at some point, but she feels like she would be crossing some silently established line where they're just a barista and a customer and not _something else_ even if Trixie might think about it sometimes.

_Sometimes_.

Which is actually stupid, really. Trixie doesn't know her. Trixie knows exactly four things about her: she's beautiful, she speaks French, she likes yoga and she downs bitter scalding black coffee as if it's water.

_Get a grip, Trixie_.

Although, to be fair, it's probably loneliness. When Trixie started college she had a girlfriend from back home and it'd lasted until the end of her second year when the distance proved to be too much (meaning: she got cheated on by her girlfriend who felt _the distance was too much_ ), and since then she's only had one girlfriend who lasted exactly three and a half months.

So she's lonely and she likes dating, she likes having someone, and she's been so focused on school lately that she hasn't properly thought about it in a long time. Until _Blondie_ had come in that day.

"Privyet, Talullah!" a familiar voice exclaims as the door opens, sending Trixie into a frenzy as she's scared back to reality and making her spill the milk in her hand. "How're you doing? Oh, shit, did I scare you?"

"A little, but it's fine, the milk wasn't hot yet." It _was_ , but not enough to burn her hand, so she bites her cheek to hide the pain and smiles. "I'm great, how are you?"

"In desperate need of coffee. Fix me up?"

She's casual as she says it, cool and all smiley towards Trixie, her eyes big and shiny. Trixie wonders if maybe she's projecting her own feeling onto the woman, but then she takes a step back to tell herself that there aren't any _feelings_ . It is - if it even is that - just a _small tiny little crush_ and it'll pass soon, once the woman either becomes a real regular or stops visiting the coffee shop altogether.

She collects herself and goes to the register to type it down.

"Would you like it in a mug today? Free of charge."

Trixie offers it as a nicety, wants the woman to think she's nice and and maybe kinda cool for "breaking the rules" even if the manager couldn't really give a shit.

Instead, Blondie looks alarmed and offended, maybe even a little bit sad. "But… where would you write the name and draw me a little emoji?"

Trixie blushes lightly at her easy mention of Trixie's crappy attempts at a somewhat drawing, but a feel of warmth spreads through her chest at the notion that she wants Trixie to write and doodle something for her.

"Oh, yeah, of course. A cup it is. So..." She considers just simply and straight up asking _what's your real name anyway_ , but she cuts her to the chase.

"Shelly Johnson."

_Goddammit_.

"Wait… I know that. Where is it from?"

"Figure it out and tell me." She _winks_.

_Fuck_.

Trixie doesn't know what to say after that, so she turns around to finish writing and then fill the cup and berates herself for leaving her hanging. _Stupid_. She writes the name - and it's truly bothering her that she can't remember where it's from - and considers what to draw. She has very limited art skills so it has to be easy, but it also has to be quick and cute. She does a little flower then feels stupid for it but can't really change it and then it's been too long so she just goes to the machine to serve the beverage.

"Here you go," she offers lamely, hates herself for it, but she doesn't seem to mind, smiles just as big as the times before and Trixie is inclined to say that she _deliberately_ makes their fingers touch as she reaches for the cup.

"Thanks." She looks at what Trixie wrote and looks back to look at Trixie's eyes. "This is cute. I love it."

"That is my full art potential, so enjoy because it's all downhill from here."

She laughs and Trixie loves the sound. "I think I give you more credit than you give yourself, Tania."

Trixie rolls her eyes. "For the last time, it's-"

"Tracy! I know, I know. I'm terrible. Anyway, I gotta run. See you!"

She's out before Trixie can say anything else.

*

"Toni Braxton!" Trixie hears from behind her as she's cleaning the coffee machine and can't help the curl of her lips at the voice. "Un-break my heart, please?

She giggles as she turns around, tries to place a confident smile on her face. Today's the day: she's gonna ask her _name_. "Will a black coffee help with the damage, ma'am?"

"You know me so well." She flashes her an adorable grin and Trixie trips over herself a little bit. "Iced, please?"

"Of course. What's the-"

"Willie Scott, please and thank you."

For one tiny second Trixie considers just asking her _no, what's your real name_ , but then someone interrupts behind them.

"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is such a good movie!"

It's Shea who says that and then the woman's attention turns to her and Trixie's immediately annoyed.

"It is! See, Tatiana, some people have good taste."

"Oh, don't try to talk to Trixie about taste, she likes country music," Shea jokes back fast and the woman laughs loudly. Logically speaking Trixie knows Shea's just joking and that the woman probably means nothing by it, but she still feels an instant surge of embarrassment and looks down at the cup, concentrating extra hard on the words she's writing. She doesn't know what to draw, doesn't feel like it anymore at this particular moment even if she's being completely ridiculous. But then, as she should expect, Blondie is back in front of her, a soft smile on her lips.

"What country exactly? Like Dolly and Carrie? I find them incredibly talented."

Trixie looks back at her, their eyes meeting quickly before she glances back down. She's sincere in her words and she also seems to have noticed Trixie's discomfort and to want to make it better. Trixie bites the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning as she draws the contours of a guitar on the cup.

"Yeah, they're two of my favorites actually. I really love Dolly Parton." She shrugs then turns around to make her the coffee, gives a quick glance to Shea who's pretending to mind her own business on the other end of the counter even if she has a stupid knowing smirk on her lips.

"Actually, I can tell. I'm not sure how I didn't see it before."

Trixie huffs a little. "I don't think-"

"I meant it as a compliment!" she explains immediately, raises her hands as if in surrender. "It's a good look on you."

Trixie is quiet for the longest time, analyses the sentence in her head several times as she gives her the coffee. Then it dawns on her how _weird_ she's acting by the way _Willie_ has her eyebrows raised at her. "Thanks! I mean, thank you, that's very kind."

Blondie nods and purses her lips around the straw and Trixie berates herself for being awkward before she gets a little bit lost at the sight. Her red lipstick is, as usual, perfectly applied, and the way she's drinking it almost looks professional as barely any of the lipstick is actually touching the straw.

It's a sight, alright.

"Great as usual, Tati. I wish I could stay and chat a bit more about your country faves but I have teenagers with zero interest in French waiting for me to shove it down their throats."

"Who can blame them, really?"

"You wound me, Tabata. Le français c'est la langue de l'amour!"

"... sure." Trixie replies uncertainly and the woman giggles adorably in response.

"Maybe I'll have to teach you sometime."

"On the house?"

"Oh course. You can pay me with a coffee." And with that she winks and leaves, gives no time for Trixie to reply.

Shea approaches her then. "Thank you for not making out on the counter. I'd hate to have to explain that to the customers."

"Shut up, Shea."

*

It's unusually busy today and although Trixie usually hates the long breaks she's growing to hate the heavy traffic as well. By 10am there were so many more customers than usual coming in that she asked for the manager's permission to call in backup - that's when she learned there was some issue with the water pipes at the Starbucks down the block so that's why they're getting so many customers, so yes, he agreed call in some of the other girls.

It had just been Trixie and Pearl that morning but now Shea, Kim and Trannika are also behind the counter and it's too crowded because that's more than they ever usually have around, so Trixie feels a bit trapped and uncomfortable.

Although that feeling could be more related to the fact that they're all talking about Blondie than the lack of space.

"Oh, you guys should've seen it, she's head over heels," Shea says from where she's preparing a frappuccino and Trixie's trying really hard to focus on the customer in front of her who is trying to make absolutely sure he gets soy milk, but it's hard when all the other girls are debating her life knowing she can't really give any input.

"She is, it's pathetic really," Pearl adds, and Trixie tries but she can't really stop the affronted little huff that escapes her lips.

Her customer thanks and leaves and she decides to use this one second to turn to them and tell to quit.

"Would you _idiots_ quit it, I'm-" She stops herself when Shea point her head to where the customer line is and when Trixie turns and sees Blondie her stomach drops.

_Oh no_.

"Oh. Oh! Uh, hi!"

Blondie has a funny expression on her face as she raises her eyebrows in some sort of concerned curiosity. "Hi. You okay?"

Trixie nods, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. She was probably behind the guy all along. Had she heard anything? _How much_ had she heard? Trixie wishes she was an ostrich to bury her head on the ground. "Yeah, I'm fine. We're just really busy today, I'm tired."

The girls snicker behind her and she wishes they'd all drop dead immediately.

"Do you ever get breaks? I feel that whenever I'm here, you're working."

She sounds truly sympathetic but Trixie's brain immediately overanalysis the situation. With classes and projects and finals, Trixie's schedule has been all over the place. She hasn't had fixed dates to work for months and whenever Blondie appears it's on a different day in which Trixie happens to just be there.

Has she been trying to _not_ find Trixie there this whole time?

"Uh, yeah, I do. It's just I'm in the theater group at school and with projects and all it's hard to have a fixed schedule. I'm off this Sunday, though."

"Oh? I'm off work on Sunday, too," Blondie says, looks intensely at Trixie as if she's expecting something but she's still weirded out by the conversation the girls were having, the fact that she might have heard, and the uncomfortable - although unlikely - possibility that this woman might not actually be seeking her, but trying to avoid her.

So she just clears her throat and takes a cup from the venti stack. "Black coffee, right? Name?"

Blondie is clearly taken aback by her sudden cold reaction, her eyes move to the side to where the other girls are lowkey watching the exchange, and then she looks back at Trixie with the same concerned expression from before, except without humor this time.

"Uh, you can put down Lana, please."

That gets a reaction out of Trixie. Lana sounds like the only normal name she has ever said. Maybe it's the real one.

She perks up.

"Is that your real name?"

Blondie considers her for a long second, long enough that the person behind her in line makes a noise as if to show she's there, and then _Lana_ smiles.

"Sure, Tyra." And Trixie's almost smiling but then Blondie taps at her collarbone and Trixie sees her Lana del Rey t-shirt.

_Of fucking course_.

Trixie shakes her head in disbelief, fights a grin that should not be there because she'd been in a mood _seconds_ before, and writes down Lana. She tries to draw a strawberry and a glass of wine that actually look pretty shitty because she can't draw and also because she's rushing through it, but it's fine because she's not even sure that's the song anyway, and she hands the cup to Kim who's handling the coffee machine at the moment.

"It's _cherries_ and wine, you idiot," she whispers which only makes her lisp worse.

Trixie blushes but goes back to the impatient customer in front of her.

"See you soon, Tiffany!" Blondie screams as she's leaving and Trixie hopes she can't hear Trannika as she quips in.

"Just fuck her already, Jesus Christ."

*

It's Sunday and just like she said Trixie's off, and instead of going to any of the hundred possible places she could, she goes straight to Starbucks. Kim rolls her eyes as she sees her walk in with her big backpack in hand and immediately takes a cup, knows what Trixie will ask for.

"Here to see _Blondie_?" she mocks as she's steaming the milk and Trixie's never regretted anything more than she does telling them that she calls her Blondie in her mind.

" _No_ , I'm here to study. Besides I specifically told her I wasn't working today, so if she shows up we know she just really likes our coffee."

"Bitch, Pearl me told she waited for like _fifteen minutes_ for you to handle her _plain black coffee_ the other day-"

"It was not that long! And we were in the middle of a conversation, she was just being polite."

"Right, because it's normal for customers and baristas to just 'have conversations', and it definitely never happens that the conversation gets interrupted once the customer is served."

Now it's Trixie who rolls her eyes, hopes she's not blushing. "Whatever, Kim, it's nothing. Just give me my coffee and let me go study, I have stuff to finish."

Kim sighs as she handles her the cup, watches in silence as she walks to the stairs.

"I'll make sure to let her know you're upstairs if she appears."

"Please _don't_."

-

She does.

Trixie's ingrained on her papers, has her headphones on maximum as she hears over and over the music she'd recorded earlier as she tries to place the words together to form actual lyrics.

Writing a whole musical for her final project? She's fucking stupid.

She sees the shadow on her work as she's still scribbling but she doesn't pay them attention - she's not leaving that table until she's either finished or they're closing and Kim's kicking her out -, but then they tap on her shoulder and she sighs audibly as she looks up.

She fixes her posture immediately.

"Oh, hey!"

"Hi, Thalia! Studying?"

Blondie's standing awkwardly, seems unsure on whether Trixie wants the interruption or not. Trixie definitely doesn't _need_ the distraction, still has so much to do and so little time over the next few weeks and has been lowkey freaking out for the past several days.

Still, she nods and moves the chair next to her with her foot, making space for the woman to sit. "Yeah, I decided to go kind of big on my final project so there's a lot of regret going on right now."

Her eyes lit up at the chair being sort-of-pulled for her, and she sits down fast, sets her purse on the floor and the cup of coffee she's holding on the table.

"What do you study? And what is your project?"

She seems genuinely curious as she asks, eyes the papers on the table but doesn't linger on long enough to read, which Trixie appreciates. She's been sort of weary of telling people about it, on one hand she feels like it's the perfect project and that it will totally woo the professor, on the other she knows that it'll only work if she gets it 100% right which doesn't feel like a real possibility at the moment.

But Blondie is so _compelling_ and Trixie's past the point of denying the fact that she does indeed have a massive crush on her, always with the perfect red lipstick no matter the time of day, the crazy hairdos - like today's, which could be a nice ponytail except for how high her hair lifts at the crown of her head - and that clear, bright smile that can convey so many different emotions through the same shining set of white teeth.

She's pretty _and_ beautiful and she's also funny and probably smart if she speaks French and probably flexible due to yoga and Trixie feels like this is a lot to know about a person whose name she _still doesn’t even know_. It's frustrating.

But Trixie still decides to tell her.

"Theater and Musical Theater. So my project is to take a non-musical play and write a score to it. I'm… very behind on my schedule."

"Of course you're a theater kid," she says with a soft smile, both her hands circling her coffee. "I was an art major, there was always a rift at my school? It almost felt like it was illegal for the art kids and the performance art kids to mingle."

"Yeah, that definitely happens with me," she replies half-heartedly, doubts the woman would really use that against her but knows how serious that feels in college. "But Kim's an art major and we get along really well so I feel like I've broken that ice."

"And I've been out of college for almost three years, I definitely don't have time for that bullshit." She takes a sip of her coffee after that and it's then that Trixie sees that there's something written on the cup, hidden in between her fingers.

Trixie's breath catches, she's _so curious_ , feels so ridiculous for not knowing her name and yet still too uncomfortable to ask. She also wonders briefly if the name on the cup is her real one or yet another fake. She doesn't know which one is worse: that she'd potentially said her real name to Kim when she won't say it to her, or that their little fake name game wasn't theirs after all.

She wishes the cup was just blank.

She sees what looks to be an _e_ at the end of the word as her fingers move slightly when she's settling the cup down, but she's not entirely sure and she definitely couldn't distinguish what was before that.

"Anyway, your project sounds really cool. Tell me more about it? If you want to, of course."

Trixie's mouth runs off before she can think about it, she's been so frustrated about it lately and since she hasn't _told_ anyone what it is yet, she doesn't have anyone to vent to. So she does, even shows her some of the lyrics and lets her listen to the last melody she recorded and it feels so easy to share it all when the woman seems so involved in what she's saying, when she has funny remarks and insights which Trixie even writes down to try to incorporate later.

It's a smooth sailing from there and suddenly they're talking about Blondie's college experience and why she doesn't work with art and when she ends up picking up some of her doodles from her bag and showing them to Trixie she feels mortified at ever having drawn anything for her on a cup.

"Oh my god, do you come here to just get a drawing you can laugh at later? Look at these, they're amazing!"

Blondie laughs loudly at this, throwing her head back for good measure. "Your drawings are cute! And you have a pretty handwriting. And from what I just read and heard you're not lacking any talents."

Trixie smiles shyly, feels her insides bubble up with pride. "Thank you. It's my passion, writing music. Like you with art, I guess."

"Yes," she agrees immediately. "And making lates is your upward-facing dog, I guess?"

Trixie laughs at her and is about to ask her about the teaching yoga thing when her phone rings.

It's an unknown number, she never really takes those, but then both she and the woman see the time.

"Oh, _fuck_ ," she says.

" _Shit_ ," Blondie says at the same time. "I didn't mean to keep you all this time, sorry, Barbie."

Trixie is taken aback, it's the first time she's been called a non-T name. But then she remembers it's her day off and she looks down quickly, taking in her outfit her outfit and thinking back to her make-up that morning.

Barbie is fitting. It's also cute. She likes it.

"It's fine, I… I had fun."

The woman is getting up and she looks back down at Trixie at that, her eyes soften and her smile gentle.

"So did I." She gets her cup once she has her purse back on her shoulder, and Trixie is beating herself up for not picking it up and reading the name on it before then. "See you tomorrow, Tess?"

Trixie considers asking then, they just had an impromptu afternoon coffee date - it was sort of a date right? Trixie's certainly been in real planned dates much worse than this _thing_ \- and it feels like it could come out naturally.

But then she considers the words, sees in her eyes that she'll definitely be there tomorrow, and she's sort of excited now, to see if maybe this is it and tomorrow will be the day.

So she just smiles and nods.

"Tomorrow."

*

Trixie's been staring at her phone for the past fifteen minutes since the last customer left, her right thumb hovering on the "send" button. She re-reads her text again, wonders if her friends would ever let it go if she did send the message to Kim, while at the same she really really wants the answer.

She hears the bells on the door and on a whim clicks send.

_Hey, Kim, quick question… what did she say her name was yesterday?_

She locks her phone again and looks up, a greeting smile on her face before she sees who's standing there.

"Tahani!" She's wearing sunglasses today and she moves them to the top of her head as she speaks, making her hair stick up to the sides of the frames. It's loose today for the first time and Trixie can tell for sure that she had it cut since yesterday.

Trixie's also ecstatic that for the first time she knows where the crazy name she just used comes from.

"Eleanor! Did you cut your hair?"

Blondie opens her mouth in excited shock and it reminds Trixie of an energetic child. It amazes Trixie how she navigates from sexy to cute so easily.

"Oh my god, you know The Good Place! There's hope for you, I'm so happy."

"I was lured to it because Trannika told me Tahani and Eleanor were a couple. I've been deceived."

"Oh my _god_ , I'll live with that image now and be disappointed every time I watch it, thanks!"

"Sorry," Trixie jokes as the woman fake whines and something inside her brain is whispering _she wants the lesbian couple too!!!_ "Anyway, I like your haircut."

Trixie's never seen Blondie blush before, but she can definitely say it's _wonderful_. "Thanks! I literally just left the hairdresser, It's kind of you to notice."

Trixie bites her tongue so she won't just splurt it out that she's been paying way too much attention to not notice any slight changes, and in this process she looks down and sees her phone light up with a message from Kim.

Oh _god_ , she wants to read it.

"Anyway, what can I offer you today? Maybe something that tastes good, for a change?"

She laughs again and leans on the counter, gets closer to Trixie then she's had in the past with the exception of the day before when the ambience had been so different it almost seems like a different reality.

"You know what, why not? Let me try one of these vein clogger syrupy syrups you like. Make me your favorite beverage, Taylor."

It's definitely not supposed to be intimate, but the thought that Blondie is breaking her routine for _her_ favorite drink sets something in Trixie's chest. She picks up the cup and looks up expectedly, and to her surprise Blondie is giving her the same look.

Finally, Blondie just gives her tiny grin. "You can choose the name today."

Trixie's disappointed, but after everything that's been going on with them she tries not to care. She writes down Eleanor, thinks back to how she was called Tahani and how the two like the idea of them as a couple and it tugs a smile on her own lips. Right by its side she draws a few musical notes and goes back to make the mixture of syrups that's not on the menu but she does for herself when she wants a pick-me-up.

"Ok, here you go. Something that actually tastes like something."

Blondie seems wary, doesn't reach for the cup. "Are you positively sure I'm not going to develop immediate diabetes?"

Trixie rolls her eyes and pushes the coffee forward. Blondie eyes it suspiciously but picks it up, and this time she leaves no doubt that the brush of their fingers is absolute intentional.

Trixie feels it lingering.

She puts the drink on her lips and Trixie watches as the red lipstick leaves a faint mark on the white lid. It is very faint though, because after one tiny sip she pulls it away and makes a face.

"You hate it," Trixie states, tries not to laugh at the woman as she seems disgusted.

Blondie, however, takes her face as offended and her eyes blow wide. "I- I don't _hate_ it, I just..."

Trixie bursts out laughing and it takes a few seconds but Blondie follows her and it feels so comfortable Trixie wishes she could ditch the counter and just sit down with her again.

"That's ok, now I got myself a coffee." Trixie moves to take the cup back and winks, but Blondie bites her lower lip and looks down at her own hand.

"Uh…" She moves back to the register area and motions to the cups stacks. "Can I?"

Trixie nods and watches as the woman picks one. She asks for the pen and Trixie gives it to her, even if she's completely unsure of what's happening. Once she seems satisfied with whatever she's writing, she opens her coffee cup and pours the content on the one she just drew at, and then gives it to Trixie.

Trixie looks down and can't help the way her whole body reacts. It says _Triksy_ in a really nice and round handwriting and right by its side there's a quick but ridiculously well done sketch of herself in what has to be the dress she was wearing the day before.

She snorts when she sees the name, thinks _of course_ , but once her eyes roam the drawing there's nothing else she can say other than: "Wow." She saw yesterday how great of an artist she was, but this is mindblowing and so extremely flattering, it's a black marker sketch on a cup and it still looks beautiful - is that how she sees her?

But, more than anything, she's in love with the name. She's never called her Trixie before. It's the first time, even if misspelled, even if not spoken aloud.

Trixie's never wished more that she knew her name.

When she looks back up, Blondie is actually at the door with her hand on the handle, staring at her.

"Wait, don't you want your coffee?" Trixie hurries to get a new one, but Blondie dismisses her with a flick of her hand. Trixie notices she still has the empty cup in it.

She gives one final bright smile as she opens the door. "It's fine. That's not what I come in for."

And with that she leaves, and Trixie can't really pick her jaw up from the floor.

As a way of grounding herself she opens Kim's text. It's a picture of the cup she gave Blondie the day before and the caption says "that's specifically what she asked me to write".

The cup just says _no name_.

Trixie smiles.

*

Today's the day and Trixie's determined. She's gonna ask Blondie three things: her name, her phone number, and if she wants to go out. Preferably in this order but whatever way to attain these infos will do just fine.

The issue is that it's a Saturday so she has Shea _and_ Trannika to bother her and serve as witness to her attempts, but that's fine, she wants to get to know Blondie more than she worries about the teasing, which already says loads.

However, it doesn't look like Blondie will be showing up. It's past lunch time and there's been no sign of her yet and to this day the latest she's ever come in has been 2pm. It's 1:15 and Trixie's trying not to panic.

"If you'd stop being ridiculous and had just _asked_ her already you two would probably be married by now-"

"Why do you think that's helping?" Trixie cuts Trannika off, trying not to look at the clock every two minutes.

"Who said I was trying to help?"

"Trixie, if she doesn't come in today, she'll be in tomorrow or the day after," Shea interrupts, seems intent on being nice today. "Sometimes I see her look inside from the window and go away if you're not here."

Trixie snorts. "Right."

Shea raises her eyebrows. "I'm serious. She's coming, don't worry about it, ok?"

Trixie's mind is going override, thinking about the woman visiting the coffee shop but not entering if she's not there.

_That's not what I come in for_.

Trixie spends the rest of her day going over that and the previous interactions they had. As soon as the clock ticks off her leaving time she picks a cup, pours black coffee in it, and steals one of the pens they have. She gives the girls no time to ask her what she's doing, she's out the door in seconds and considers both sides of the street.

She'd said the French Institute was two streets away and the yoga was three to the other side. She goes for the french one first.

Finding the place is not the problem, finding _Blondie_ is. She can't ask for Jodie Foster, can she?

She spends a good ten minutes with the receptionist explaining what the woman looks like and also trying to prove she's not a sociopath who wants to kill her. Finally the woman lets her know that the person she's looking for is not working that day as only dark-haired people are teaching.

Trixie tries to get her name out of the woman, but when she only gets a glare she gives up and leaves. Yoga studio it is.

She goes back on the street and when she passes the coffee shop she looks back inside just to be safe. Blondie's not there.

She keeps walking until she finds the yoga studio and and the receptionist there seems a lot more friendly. As soon as Trixie describes the woman, he smiles.

"Oh yeah, that's Zamo!" _Zamo_. Ok. Weird name, but Trixie will take it. "She's finishing up her last class for the day, she'll be out in ten minutes if you want to wait?”

Trixie moves to the couch immediately, keeps her eyes locked on the door that leads the to the classes. She considers writing Zamo on the cup, but she wants to see her, wants her to say her name so Trixie can start ticking off the three items on her list the right way.

Soon the door opens and off go several people Trixie assumes are the students. Trixie gets up and fixes her hair, waits for another five long minutes before three people come out, probably the instructors since one of them is her.

She looks different, is clearly tired from the class and has a much lighter makeup on, has her hair on a messy bun and simple yoga clothes.

"Trixie?!" she asks surprised when she sees her, but there's no mistaking the glint in her eyes. Trixie melts and lets herself smile.

She said _Trixie_. It sounds wonderful on her lips.

"I felt bad about stealing your coffee yesterday, so I brought you a free one," Trixie offers, shows the cup on her hands.

Blondie approaches her and her smile grows. "You didn't have to do that."

Trixie shrugs. "I wanted to."

They're silent for a while and Trixie's tense. This is it, she knows it is.

Blondie motions for the cup but Trixie pulls is back for a second.

"Just… just one thing. What's your name?"

She smiles even larger and takes a step closer. One more step and they'd be touching.

"Katya."

Trixie deflates, thinks back to how the receptionist had called her. Why won't she _tell_ her her name?

"Right."

Blondie seems to notice though, her expression shifts a bit.

"No, really. My name is Katya." She raises her hand for Trixie to shake and she doesn't know if it's mockery or not. "Katya Zamolodchikova."

_Oh_.

Oh.

_Zamo_.

She tries to fight her grin, but can't. She takes the pen from her pocket and writes Katya slowly, careful not to spill the coffee. It's a pretty name and it suits her.

"Here."

She takes the drink and looks at it. "No drawing today?"

"Oh. I'm afraid I've run through my portfolio already."

Katya - _Katya_ \- smirks and hands her back the cup.

"Why don't you write your phone number instead?"

Trixie almost whines at her for ruining her three bullet-point plan, but she can't really when the woman in front of her, clad in yoga clothes, _wants her phone number_.

"Only if you go out with me tonight."

Katya takes the final step and touches her arm with her free hand, a stupid smirk on her non-red lips.

"Deal."

*

"Blondie's here!" Pearl announces when she sees Katya through the window and Trixie rolls her eyes, her cheeks warming up.

"For the last time, it's _Katya_."

"That's me!" she says when she approaches them, the same smile she had the first time and that now Trixie _gets to kiss_. She's got butterflies in her stomach. "Hi, Trix."

"Hey," she says as she looks around the room and decides it's safe to lean over to peck her lips. She wishes she could do more. "I thought you were cutting down on caffeine?"

"I told you already that coffee is not reason I come here."

Trixie grins. "You're cheesy."

"What can I say, I'm in love Barbara."

Trixie laughs but it still gets to her, these little confessions after so little time of being with her. She still can't believe she fell in love with a customer. What sort of _fairytale_.

"Anyhow, I came here because I finished the piece I was working on. I thought you'd like to see to see it."

"Yes!" It turns out that showing Trixie her drawings on that Sunday had been just a way of give back after Trixie shared her project with her, because Katya is very secretive about her art. She's been working on some sort of sculpture since before they officially started going out and she only tells vague details to Trixie, never fully says what it is. She's very curious.

"You can't freak out, ok?"

It's a weird request, but Trixie nods. She's sort of used to it.

Katya pulls up a photograph out of her bag, and Trixie sucks in a breath when she sees it.

She's not sure what it's meant to be and even less sure on _how_ Katya did it, but it's made from the cups of coffee that Trixie gave her, with all the weird names and the terrible drawings. The one with her real name and Trixie's phone number lies on top of the others, writing fully facing the front.

"Oh my god… you kept all the cups?"

Katya shrugs shyly which is something so rare that it always makes Trixie smirk. "To be fair the first one was an accident. I drank it on the way home and then I had it with me when I got there. And the others… I'm a sentimental bitch, fight me."

Trixie bites her lip but it's not enough to stop the gigantic grin that's forming, her eyes are sparkling.

"Fuck Katya, it's beautiful. I love it."

She smiles in return and leans over the counter. "I'm glad." And then she kisses her, longer than a peck but short enough that none of the customers seems to notice. It leaves Trixie wanting more and she can't wait to be free from work.

"See you tonight?" she asks when they part and Katya's still leaning over the counter, her hand still touching Trixie's elbow.

It feels so different from the flirting days, as she likes to call them. The girls like to say it hasn't changed much, that they still make heart eyes all the time and that it's become even more gross, but it feels different to Trixie - in such a good way, though.

Katya pecks her one more time before she takes her photograph and turns to leave.

"Sure thing, Terry."

Certain things don't change, though.

Trixie's glad.

**Author's Note:**

> I am @[Pichitinha](http://pichitinha.tumblr.com/) on tumblr if you'd like to chat, and also I'm at a point in my life where I don't mind begging anymore so if you like this fic please please please leave me a comment and perhaps consider going to [my profile](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Pichitinha/pseuds/Artificial%20Pichitinha) and reading my other stuff? It'd make my day!


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